sock 'em kids game but this is beyond. if your interest i piqued, you might start planning for next year. the event ends tomorrow. probably can't make it now. next hour of the cnn "newsroom" begins right now. thanks for joining us. first up, we'll get you up to speed on the stories making news this hour. president barack obama departing andrews heading for long as. he's got a private fund-raiser, then the stars come out for a big concert. earth wind and fire, bon jovi, elton john, stevie wonder. those are some of the headliners at a fund-raising concert for the president later this evening. hold on. we're live from l.a. in just a minute, the preview. just 24 hours the meningitis outbreak has grown by almost one-third. the cdc is confirming now 91 cases of fungal meningitis in nine states, including seven deaths. that's 27 new cases since yesterday. nearly half of the new cases in michigan. fungal meningitis is linked to

contaminated steroid injections used to ease back and neck pain. the company that contributed the steroid issued a voluntary recall for all its products. it's presidential election day in venezuela. analysts say this is the strongest challenge yet to the 13-year rule of hugo chavez. his opponent is young, 40 years old, considered a moderate. many venezuelans living here traveled long distances to vote absentee. people marched through ma tl drid in the video you almost saw there. opposition to spending cuts program worth billions of dollars. also protests of dozens of other cities. labor unions are threatening to strike if the government refuses to allow a general vote on the austerity measures. the protests appeared peaceful. no reports of any violence

thankfully. tonight's spacex launch will officially turn space into a business. the resupply mission to the international space mission will launch from cape canaveral, florida. spacex successfully demonstrated it could do the job in may when it docked a capsule with the space station. we'll go live to florida later on this hour. ♪ well, republican voters in port st. lucie, florida, are turning out in big numbers for their candidate, mitt romney. it's his second straight day up and down the critical swing state, and today he pointed again to one of the key differences between his and president obama's plans. listen. >> if he is re-elected, he will install obama care and with it your premiums are going to go up an extra $2,500 above what they

already are in current health care plan. my plan is i will finally get control of the excessive costs in health care by repealing and replacing obama care with real reforms. >> president obama, like i told you at the beginning of the newscast, is in los angeles right now. two events are waiting for him. one is private, the other not so much. dan lothian live in los angeles for us. president is all about fund-raising tonight, dan. so who is going to help him more in los angeles, is it going to be the former president bill clinton or is it going to be, i don't know, bon jovi? >> reporter: wow, you know, that's a tough one. i have to say probably both of them will help him because, you know, the president not only bon jovi but also katy perry is here, george clooney, jennifer hudson. a lot of other big names that appeal to a broad array of voters from the old school like earth wind and fire, so older audiences but also some of the young people as well. so i think the president's covering it all with the various stars who are helping here at

this fund-raiser but you can't take anything away from what the xlin believes former president bill clinton brings to the table, not only in the speeches he delivers, but also out there in fund-raising. he's held a number of fund-raising events and this week as well here in california he will be holding a fund-raiser. one expected to raise about $160,000. so he's key to the campaign in addition to these entertainers, don. >> so a debate, two big names in the obama campaign, talked about today about the president's performance. what's their assessment four days later? i heard some of it this morning on the sunday shows. but what's their assessment of his performance? >> reporter: that's right. you're talking about david axelrod and david gibbs. they were on the sunday shows, and they were really going after mitt romney. yes, they admitted the president was disappointed in his performance during the debate, but also going after what mitt romney said during the debate coming right out and saying that

he was dishonest. take a listen. >> i'm not going to take away from mitt's masterful thee at trickle performance. he did a superb acting job. you know, he did everything but learn tap dance. >> i think he was dishonest, absolutely, when he said he never proposed $5 trillion in tax cuts. that was dishonest. he said on the broadcast to 70 million americans, i will repeal obama care but i will still be able to cover people with pre-existing conditions and ten minutes after the debate he sent someone into the press room to say he really didn't mean that. >> reporter: now, ed gillespie, one of mitt romney's top advisers, suggested that the obama campaign was a sore loser. he suggested that they were acting like 7-year-olds who had lost a checkers game and had cleared the entire board off the table, don. >> yeah, no one -- none of them answer the question, at least i didn't hear b why the president didn't say what they're saying now in these interviews, why he

didn't do it at the time, and that's the big question. thank you, dan lothian, in los angeles. in four days the vice presidential candidates will go head to head. their job as one strategist put it, do no harm. >> i can see my wife, and i think she's thinking, gee, i wish he had go out to the private sector. >> i'm going to try to help you do that, joe. >> look at that. bernie shaw, memories. that brings back some times. so listen, what can we expect? can we expect moments like that this week? and polls just closed in venezuela. hugo chavez's job is up for grabs after 13 years. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center...

working together has never worked so well. and polls just closed in

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we're going to be talking about this until the election is over. joe biden versus paul ryan, the first and only vice presidential -- the first and only vice presidential debate is just four days away. athena jones previews the ryan/biden match-up and looks at standout moments from previous vice presidential debates now. >> reporter: who could forget that wink. then-governor sarah palin winking during her 2008 debate with fellow vice presidential nominee joe biden. not just once, but some half a dozen times. then there's senator lloyd benson's dig at senator dan quayle in 1988. >> i knew jack kennedy. jack kennedy was a friend of mine. senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> reporter: memorable moments, but hardly game-changers. while presidential debates can affect the outcome of an election, vice presidential debates like this week's upcoming match-up between vice

president biden and his gop challenger paul ryan, are a different animal. >> you need to be able to see that each vice presidential candidate has hit the standard of readiness, that they will be ready in an emergency in a national crisis to be able to step into the oval office and to take the reins of the presidency. but beyond that in terms of the actual debate itself, unless there is a star killing or star catching moment, it rarely changes the course of the debate. >> reporter: democratic strategist donna bazille says the first rule is to do no harm. >> in terms of substance try not to break new ground. this is about 2012 and the top of the ticket. >> i don't like a damn thing about him. >> biden, who participated in more than 20 debates and forums in the 2008 campaign, said the contests are never easy. >> what i have been doing mostly is, quite frankly, studying up on congressman ryan's positions on the issues, and governor

romney has embraced at least everything i can see. i don't want to say anything in the debate that's not completely accurate. >> reporter: so what are the candidates' biggest strengths? analysts say for ryan it's his ability to speak in detail about policy issues. for biden, his ease in talking about how national policies affect ordinary people. here is congressman ryan's take on biden. >> he's fast on the cuff, he's a witty guy, he knows who he is and he's been doing this for 40 years. you're not going to rattle joe biden. joe is very good on the attack. joe is very good at trying to confuse the issues. >> reporter: when it comes to advice for the candidates? >> try to be comfortable in your skin, be rested, look into the camera, smile from time to time. >> reporter: and a little humor always helps. >> i can see my wife and i think she's thinking, gee, i wish you would go out into the private sector. i'm goi >> i'm going to try to help you do that, joe. >> athena jones.

>> vice president biden and congressman paul ryan get their turn to tackle the issues before the country this thursday night. our coverage of the vice presidential debate starts at 7:00 eastern right here on cnn. okay. let's talk about another presidential election. this one in south america and election day is today. venezuela, where that man you see right there, president hugo chavez, has been in power for 13 years. that's chavez voting in caracas trying for another term. guess who he voted for? there's no limit to the number of terms a president can serve there. chavez himself made that rule. but analysts say if anyone can unseat this president, it is the man facing him today. a 40-year-old governor. so let's go right to caracas now. cnn's paula newton is there. paula, it's evening there, voting has been going on all day. any word about irregularity or trouble at the polls or who might be ahead.

do they even do exit polling? >> reporter: they do exit polls and they're not supposed to report on them here though. thankfully, don, though i can tell but them. what they do is they have these dueling exit polls they try to get out. a lot of it happens through social media even though that breaks the rules. we've had the government saying they're ahead by 8%. we've had the opposition saying they're ahead by anywhere from 1% to 3%. this is going to be a cliff-hanger in venezuela. i can tell from you speaking to both parties, they have no clue. they do believe it will be very close, and they themselves were very nervous about the results going in. and, you know, each one of them, hugo chavez and his challenger, they have a great line. the line is neither one of them has either lost an election. there's a lot of nervousness about how the government especially, chavez in power for almost 14 years now, if he will reling quick power. he says if he loses, he will. >> it will be a first for one of these guys tonight, either a first for the new guy to win or for one of them to lose. so tell us about this

challenger. how did his campaign against -- how did he campaign i should say against a long-time president? >> reporter: he's been campaigning for such a long time. i interviewed him in the spring. he certainly is an energetic guy, 40, a lawyer. the kind of baggage he's carrying is he comes from a wealthy family. here, don, there is a lot of suspicion among the poor, and even people who have just been emerging into the middle class that the elite in this country will forget them yet again. this is an oil-rich country. in fact, the united states gets almost 9% of their gas, their oil every year. it has the largest proven reserves in the world. they want a piece of that action and for too many years they believe they haven't except many say under hugo chavez for whatever his other faults is. that's the baggage he has. he's very defensive about it saying, look, i am not going to be making a sharp right-hand turn in this country. i'm a centrist. i will share the wealth and keep in the motion programs. mr. chavez's social programs that are so popular here.

energetic guy. he's been up and down one side of this country and down the next house to house and the numbers that he's been accumulating at rallies really impressive numbers throughout the country, even right here in caracas which is normally hugo chavez stronghold. >> obvious question, when are we going to know? >> gosh, i wish i could tell you, don. what's going on right now, the polls were supposed to close a few minutes ago. they've not closed because there are people still in line. the electoral commission, we're waiting to see. after that, this is going to be hours and hours, and, don, we're talking midnight, 1:00, 2:00 in the morning highly likely. this is going to be a very, very late night in venezuela. >> thank you, paula. appreciate it. jumping out of an aircraft seems unimaginable to a lot of us, but what if when you did this, this was your view. take a look at that. really? one man will jump from the age of space and plans to fall faster than the speed of sound. we'll go to the launch site

next. how cool is that?

. can you imagine freefalling from space? it's reality for an austrian man who is attempted to break the

sound barrier by jumping from a balloon more than 18 miles above the earth. wow. brian todd following a story from roswell, new mexico, where we usually hear about ufos. so the only ufo i guess you have seen is this guy practicing maybe. how does he plan to do this? >> reporter: well, don, they have done the scientific work to this down to the "t." this is mission control behind me sponsored by red bull, as you can see. this red bull team they have put together has spent five years preparing for this. they have hired some of the best minds in aeronautical science to put this all together. so they do have everything planned out. what we're going to show you here are photo journalist mike love is going to pan over here. this is the field where they will launch a balloon with a cap actual that will take felix baumgartner. the balloon will take him to the edge of space. it's about 122,000 feet above

the earth. at that point he's going to step out of that capsule and free fall for 117,000 feet wearing nothing but a high-pressure suit, a helmet, and a parachute. that's going to break the record for the longest free fall from space, and in doing so, don, he will also break the speed record. he's going to break the sound barrier. he's going to go about 690 miles an hour. so those are two records he's going to break on this mission. >> wow. and that video is pretticle. it looks like a jellyfish, right? doesn't it look like a jellyfish. >> reporter: yeah, it does. it's something to see. >> this is really risky. >> reporter: it is very risky, don. there are a lot of things that could conceivably go wrong. we have talked to the experts here and they have laid it out for us. they're very honest about some of the things that could happen. on the way up, he could get what they call the bends, decompression sickness, that's one risk. when he steps off and gets to altitude when he's flying through the stratosphere like that, he could go into a severe

spin at which point he has to get his bearings on the horizon. his suit could get compromised. he could freeze severely because it gets to about 70 degrees below zero up there or if it gets compromised even more, the oxygen could get sucked out of his lungs and his blood could boil if the suit gets compromised. this suit he's going to wear is critical. it cannot fail. >> cool stuff. great assignment, brian todd, roswell, knonew mexico. nasa steps aside as commercial space flight against under way. we'll go live to florida in 15 minutes for the launch of the spacex rocket. these are live pictures right now. there it is on the pad. we're going to take you there live for a live report. moving on now, filmmaker refuses to give new york city outtakes from his film. the city has filed a lawsuit to get them. an infamous case back in the limelight. that story is straight ahead.

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it's just one of the ways constant contact can help you grow your small business. sign up for your free trial today at constantcontact.com/try. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. filmmaker ken burns is refusing to give the city of new york outtakes from his latest film. it's about the five men who ultimately were exonerated in the 1989 rape of a jogger in new

york's central park. the city says it has a right to the clip as part of the lawsuit the so-called central park five filed against city hall. susan candiotti has the story for you. >> reporter: this documentary, the latest project of filmmaker ken burns whose daughter is co-director, tells the story of five black and latino teenagers. they were convicted of raping and brutally beating a white female jogger in new york's central park in 1989. >> it was this huge media story. there was a lot of coverage, but everyone got it wrong at that time. >> she was hollering, help, help. >> reporter: the five teenagers confessed to the crime after what they said was an unfair interrogation. they were charged even though none was a match for a dna sample found at the scene. turns out it belonged to this man. >> he commits at least five more rapes that we know of after the central park jogger. >> reporter: but the serial rainest did not confess until after the five teens already had

served sentences ranging from seven to 11 years. a judge threw out the convictions. >> the verdicts have been set aside in their entirety. >> yeah! >> reporter: a victory for the five men. yousef salam, now 38, was one of them. >> after being exonerated, it's almost like somebody running free through the grass and just throwing their hands up yelling a-ha. >> reporter: harder to overturn was public perception. the case inflamed racial tensions in the city. the teens were called animals and savages. donald trump took out a full-page ad asking to bring back the death penalty. >> if they had their ways, we would have been hanging from some of these lovely trees in central park. >> reporter: the five men filed a federal lawsuit a decade ago accusing the city of violating their civil rights by coercing their confessions. the city has defended 9 way it's

conducted its investigation. the filmmaker refuse to share outtakes citing shield laws. >> we believe we are protected under the shield laws as journalists and we don't think it's fair for the government to intrude in our research. >> reporter: a lawyer for the city says the film isn't journalism because it advocates for the five. in a statement, the city says, quote, if the plaintiffs truly want an open airing of the facts, they should encourage the filmmakers not to hide anything. the filmmakers claim the documentary sticks to the facts. what do you make of the city trying to go after the outtakes for this film? >> the city needs to stop dragging their feet. i don't think they would find anything other than what they already know, that we were innocent and this is just going to continue to further restate that. >> reporter: yusef says no matter the outcome, he may never fully escape his nightmare that started in in park. susan candiotti, cnn, new york.

the world watches cape canaveral, florida. live pictures. look at that. i love looking at space pictures. it's not quite up there yet. this launch is a first, and its success will play into the future of the u.s.'s plans for manned flights into space. we're going to go live to the cape next. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... a little bit more vanilla? this is great! [ male announcer ] at humana, we believe

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i want to get you caught up on the headlines. in just 24 hours the meningitis outbreak has grown by almost a third. the cdc confirms 91 cases of fungal meningitis in nine states, including seven deaths. 27 new cases since yesterday. nearly half of the new cases are in michigan. the meningitis is linked to contaminated steroid injections often used to ease back and neck pain. the company that distributed the tainted steroid issued a voluntary recall for all its products. president barack obama departing andrews a couple hours ago heading for los angeles. he is there now in california. he's got a private fund-raiser, then the stars come out.

a lot of stars for a big concert, earth, wind, and fire, bon jovi, elton john, stevie wonder to name a few headline a fund-raiser for the president later this evening. now to some disturbing video from the syrian civil war. some viewers, this is a warning, particularly for children, they may want to look away. okay. so here we go. we're told this person that you see running, see that person, that is a syrian boy, and that he was hit by sniper fire. there he is now laying on the ground, on the sidewalk. cnn can't independently confirm the video's authenticity but it is disturbing. thor amateur video is said to show a government aircraft going down in a damascus subbash. opposition activists say at least 100 people were killed today. finally, to a much lighter story. you know that dance where people pretend to ride a horse.

it is an internet sensation. everybody is cracking up. 10,000 people showed up this weekend in one south korean street to dance together. you can see them here. the bouncing mob jammed to the hit song. that is, of course by a south korean pop star who created the strange move in the first place. you guys know that song? no? can you do it? folks in the studio don't want to do it. so we'll just move on and go live to cape canaveral, florida. less than an hour spacex rocket takes off. john zarrella standing by. john, you get all the good assignments. are we now counting on private industry -- i guess it's all going to be private industry, maybe nasa oversees some of it, i don't know, to do what nasa used to do? >> reporter: yeah, and clearly nasa oversees all of this and has a lot of input into what

these private companies are launching, and once they start with the manned flights from these private companies, the astronauts on board, nasa will even have greater impact then as to the spacecraft that are flying and making sure that they are, quote, human rated. tonight there is nobody on top. it is a dragon capsule on a falcon 9 rocket. you can see it on the launchpad. the steam coming out is the venting of the excess liquid oxygen on that spacecraft. everything is going well. the only issue right now is the weather. there are rain showers to the north of the space center and some rain showers to the south, and what they're really concerned about is what they call anvil clouds, those big thunder heads. the reason for that, don, is because if you launch with those around, the rocket can actually create static electricity as it's going through the atmosphere, and sometimes that static electricity can actually do what's called trigger

lightning, and they call it trigger lightning. and you certainly don't want lightning hitting your spacecraft as you're trying to get up through the atmosphere. so they don't want to launch with anvil clouds too close to the launch site, so they're keeping an eye on that. once they get up, it will be off to the international space station, and spacex has done this before, back in may. a demonstration flight where their dragon capsule actually did rendezvous and berth and then return safely to earth. but this is the first of a dozen missions under contract now with nasa, the first of the real deal missions. the total cost for the 12 missions nasa has signed on with spacex is $1.6 billion is what the nasa contract to spacex is, and this the first of those dozen missions to resupply the space station. don? >> the original jay-z, john zarrella, thank you.

>> reporter: sure. >>. john adams called the office of vice president the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived. so then why is there is much focus on joe biden this week and why are some saying the pressure is really on him? so, explain this. how can something get bigger.. and smaller? there's more of it.. insignificant office that ever well, i guess the laws of physics are more like.. general guidelines.

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like a spoon fork. spray cheese. and jeans made out of sweatpants. so grab yourself some new prilosec otc wildberry. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. it is nobody as the birth place of bluegrass, and it's called the city of firsts. however, this week's vice presidential debate is not the first for the city of danville, kentucky. population just over 16,000. spotlight is not just on the city, but it's on vice president joe biden. comedian and political podcast host, man, your title gets longer every week, ben gleeb is here now. don't screw this up. you're on probation. >> i'll do my best, no promises. >> what can we expect from this debate from joe biden. all the president bush is on him following the president aes performance during his own

debate which was not great. >> this is true. i think he needs to tell the american peel he can't be blamed for the top of his ticket and i think he needs to make sure he doesn't make many of his usual biden gaffes. hopefully he doesn't accidentally call paul ryan ryan paul or confuse him with paul rudd, tell him he was great in "40-year-old virgin." on the flip side i think paul rayan doesn't need to fall into the sarah palin trap and refer to joe as o'biden. and perhaps if biden wants to actually have some facts ready, unlike obama did when paul ryan hammers him for wanting to cut $716 billion out of medicare, please respond by saying, that's the same $716 billion that you propose cutting from medicare. small fact but it works. >> i think it would be funny if he was like, listen rand paul or

ryan -- that would be hilarious if he did that. paul ryan can go, you betcha. >> exactly. >> there's going to be i'm sure a lot of focus on this, on vice president joe biden, really i should say on paul ryan as well because fairly new to the national stage at this level and the pressure is going to be on both of them because of the president's performance and mitt romney performed well. people are going to say paul ryan should perform well. looking ahead, what does the president need to do or say to come out strong in the next debate without appearing aloof? >> well, first of all, how about just don't be aloof? you're supposed to be this huge inspiring leader. maybe try to bring a little zest in your voice. you're trying to save the world. have a red bull before you get out there. obama has the caffeine advantage over mitt romney who won't touch the stuff for religious reasons. exploit that advantage. also, perhaps barack obama can

not take little naps every time that romney speaks. you can see it right there. he's like -- every time he would say one thing, he'd be like, well, romney wants to -- wants $5 trillion in tax cuts mostly for the wealthy, and romney is like, no, i don't, and obama is like okay, i guess you don't. maybe stick a little bit with your argument, and then my last big tip for him, the part of the debate you're allowed to prepare in advance, the closing statement, actually have one ready because it was a very uninspiring closing statement. i believe he actually said four years ago we took over during a major crisis, but my faith and confidence in the american future is undiminished. it's undiminished. you're speaking like in the negative. you're also saying i'm also not fully exhausted yet. i have a little bit left in the tank. >> all right, ben. >> hopefully i can get us there, no promises. >> you have been very critical of the president and a bunch of people in this, so i am going to

criticize you now. are y can you fix your tie? >> i was trying to be a little casual. >> this is true, don, but, all right. you're the boss. is that better? hello, i'm on cnn now. >> good. >> okay. you got it. >> bendweeb, i mean gleeb. it might seem impossible anybody is still weighing the options. undecided voters, really? and they could make the difference on november 6th. we'll introduce you to six people from six swing states who are trying to decide. meet tie lor york on the millennial from new hampshire. >> i always had this notion of this lineal path to travel down with school and fining a career and then sort of got really tossed up in the air in college.

my life can be looked at in a negative light. 25 years old, living in my parents' house, don't have a full-time job, but that doesn't necessarily mean i'm not working. i have three jobs that i consider to be jobs, and i feel like i'm always working. i graduated in 2009 from schedule. in 2008 obviously i think we all know what happened, and so the job market wasn't the most intriguing at the time for a recent graduate. so the decision to move back home kind of was there for me. i kind of saw it as a great opportunity to be able to, you know, help -- be a great launching pad in my life. let's go take the field. during obama's campaign of change and hope and all this stuff back in 2008 and whatnot, it was really troubling time for the economy and the country, and

that was really uplifting. who is our pitcher? and so when it came to that, you really felt like he was going to mix things up a little bit with the government and really change things. and then it felt flat to me. felt like presidents of the past are just, you know, using this platform to get some sort of personal gain almost. i honestly have no idea where i'm going to lean towards when it comes to the election. so i guess the biggest obstacle i really face was like deciding what i wanted to do with the rest of my life. i think it's hard in this day and age for -- >> you look like the coolest. -- to really know this is the path i want to go. if you're going to do something, do it right. don't just do something to do it. you're pointing it the wrong way.

treat people for who they are and not what they're perceived to be. happy birthday. really core values that have been instilled in me that i take for what they are and have made me sort of who i am. >> for more on tyler's story and to read and watch the stories of five other undecided voters, go to cnn.com/undecided. there's some fascinating stories there. make sure you check them out. what effect will the latino vote have on the upcoming elections? that's next. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours?

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you okay? here, let me help you. my mom has been sick since i can remember. on methadone, helping her out is a bigger priority than going to school because i don't know what i would do if something happened to her, i wouldn't be able to really live. >> in the united states, there are at least 1.3 million children caring for someone who is ill or injured or elderly or disabled. they can become isolated. there are physical effects, stresses of it and the worry. >> thank you, baby. thank you so much. >> but children suffer silently.

people don't know they exist. i'm connie siskowski, i'm bringing this precious population into the light to transform their lives so that they can stay in school. we offer each child a home visit. has the rent been helpful? we look what the we can provide to meet the need. we go into the schools with the peer support group. and we offer out of school activities that gift child a break. >> this is so relaxing. >> so that they know that they are not alone. we give them hope for their future. >> nicholas. >> now i'm getting as and bs and i feel more confident. >> but we have a long way to go. there's so many more children that really need this help and support. >> who do you think, who do you think should be the cnn hero of the year? go to cnn heroes, see their

stories, the winner is going to be revealed december 2nd when anderson cooper hosts our cnn heroes all-star tribute. a month until election day, we are looking at one group that has been getting a lot of attention by both campaigns, latino voters who is resonating with those some 23 million voters in this is a new cnn/orc poll of latinos. when asked who has done a good job of reaching out to minorities? 77% said democrats have done a good job. only 33% said republicans had. and this may be even bigger, 69% felt the democratic party cares more about latinos, that's compared to just 24% for republicans. so now you know. well, latinos are a very diverse group, especially in one of the most diverse cities in america. as our soledad o'brien is going to report, many mexicans find manhattan not only immigrant friendly but rich with opportunity. >> reporter: this store is called escondido, 00, but the mexican ware it is sells are no

hidden secret. >> you see more and more products and cheese and those kinds of artis nal products from mexico, see much more interest in mexican chocolate and the changing dmoem graphics of people demanding higher quality products. >> reporter: these high end chocolates and artifacts are so popular, they are not just fetching top dollar, escondido has begun accepting pest social. >> you have more mexicans, you have more pest social, only makes more sense to be able to accept them as way of providing a public service to the people who come to the shop. >> reporter: mexicans have also taken manhattan, moving in where puerto ricans and dominicans once ran bodegas and beauty shops. >> they also work, because there's a lot of dominicans in puerto rico, also working in factories and hair salons, nail salons, everything. and you know, from there, they got better and some of them you see them now store owners. their own clothes stores, cell phone places, dealers. they moved up. the same way that somebody, i think, from mexico could come

and do the same thing here. >> reporter: mexican births will soon outpace dominican and puerto ricans in new york while more dominicans are leaving than arising, not just moving up, but moving out. >> mexicans are now willing, when they come straight from mexico to take lower-paying jobs and to endure some of the exploitations a dominican endured, you know, years ago. >> reporter: rodrigo says he finds new york immigrant friendly and rich with opportunity. he began working in new york's kitchens at able 6, then sold tacos off a cart. a taco truck, a taco stand, tacos to go and now he is the owner of four mexican restaurants. >> have to work very hard and i -- we never expect to be that successful as we doing right now. >> reporter: soledad o'brien, cnn. >> soledad's documentary "latino in america, courting their vote"

airs at the top of the hour right here on cnn. can you imagine this take a look, on your porch? it is the biggest pumpkin ever, and that's next. ♪ get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. airs at the top of the hour es 4 chevy cruze eco. for wherever life takes you. and now qualified buyers can get 0% apr financing for 48 months on a 2012 cruze. ♪

many cities, the leaves are starting to turn and halloween pumpkins are showing up across the country but the one jeanne moos found is truly one of a kind. >> reporter: kids can get pretty excited poking around a pumpkin patch, but did you ever see one as excited as this?

it was the weigh-in that answered charlie brown's age-old question -- >> oh, great pumpkin, where are you? >> reporter: there it, the first-ever 1 ton pumpkin. when the scale tipped 2,009 pounds -- ron wallace popped around and ended up in the arms of his fellow giant pumpkin growers at the fair in massachusetts. a one-ton pumpkin is equivalent to the four-minute mile. back from 2006, when he last broke the record, the one-ton pumpkin is named "the freak two." it came from the seed of "the freak one" which unfortunately died on the vine last year at almost 1800 pounds. the freak two won a $5,500 prize, plus a bonus. >> $10,000. >> reporter: 10,000 bucks for breaking the one-ton mark. wallace says growing giant

pumpkins is addictive. >> put one of these in the ground and get hooked on 40-plus pounds a day for a few weeks at its peak growth, you will never go back to growing vegetables again. >> reporter: it maybe the biggest pumpkin but it wouldn't win a beauty contest. instead of being orange and round it looked more like a glob of yellow, lumpy fat. >> why do they look so homely? >> it is genetics. they grow at such a quick pace, they get distort. >> reporter: for now, the freak two is the object of admiration, behind glass at tufts field fair. eventually it will probably be cared into an incredible jack-o-lantern by top veggie cover, ray villafay. >> do you put this pumpkin out to stud in a way? >> breeding giant pumpkins is like horse racing. >> reporter: the freak two seeds can sell anywhere from $300 to $1,000 perseid to breed other gargantuans. to think, president obama joked about hurting his back from picking up this puny